Flesh and Wires
by Rigbutter96
Summary: A legacy unknown to the world takes root as a young man attempts to surpass his father as a Bounty Hunter, all the while trying to stake his own claim, but, as they say, Like Father, Like Son.


AN: This was an idea I had after reading several stories where Naruto was adopted by Kakuzu. But it got me thinking: What if Kakuzu was his actual biological father? What if Naruto was able to use the Jiongu Those thoughts were what inspired this story, and if some characters seem OC, then I'm sorry. Naruto will be older than the Konoha Rookies, by about six years, the sane with Itachi.

I am taking liberties with the Jingu, and as such I would appreciate it if I didn't get angry reviews or PMs because of it. I am also going to make Naruto way smarter than normal, and as such, he isn't going to be going around screaming about being Hokage or ramen. In fact, he is, as are many other characters, OOC.

This will be a single pairing, and will be between two girls from different two series that I chose to put in here:

Naruto x Ameyuri  
Naruto x Lucy (Elfen Lied)  
Naruto x Karin (Chibi Vampire)

This is gonna have to hold you guys for the next week until I can update anything. In the meantime please tell me what you think.

(Chapter 1)

Kakuzu was an old shinobi, that much was certain. He hadn't lived for this long by being a fool, and he knew that he had certain needs, needs that certain people could fulfill. It was as old as time itself, and has reared it's head many times in his long life.

It was reason he was standing in front of a certain brothel in the one place he hated the most, the Hidden Leaf, or Konoha, depending on who you talked to. The Blooming Rose was his favorite Brothel in that it had someone who had somehow managed to not annoy or enrage him when she was in his company.

Her name was Himegami Kuzan. She was an employee of the Blooming Rose, and Kakuzu was one of her regulars, or as regular as he was when he managed to swallow his pride and enter the village.

Stepping in, he was greeted by the near overwhelming smell of sweat, booze, and sex that was underlined by the smell of roses that the building derived it's name from. He looked around, his masked face attracting the attention of the many woman lounging around, but upon recognising him as Kakuzu, they all smiled and waved. They knew the man was a very good paying customer, and while he only ever chose the same woman, it didn't stop them from greeting him.

The sound of light footsteps came to the man's ears as the scent of honey and apricots filled his nose. Turning slightly, he looked at the form of a woman he had met many time over the years. She had long and wavy black hair that fell to her hips, cut in a hime style. Her golden eyes held a type of wisdom in them that someone of her whole 27 years wouldn't have been expected to have. She wore a loose pink kimono with black flowers embroidered on it as well as traditional tabi socks, with straw sandals. She smiled gently and grasped his hand without a word, leading him upstairs to the rooms reserved for the girls.

She lead him silently, having become accustomed to his tastes over the last few years that he decided to do business at the Blooming Rose, knowing the things he did like, and didn't like.

Opening the door at the end of the hall marked Himegami, she continued to lead him inside. Once they were both inside, she closed the door and pushed him onto the bed.

Climbing on top of him, they got down to why he was there.

(Nine Months Later)

The sun was shining in Konoha as everyone went about their business. Life went on, no one bothering to deviate from their plans of the day, and no one bothering to even care about what was going on in the Red Light District, even though the entire community had become very excited.

It wasn't everyday that there was a birth, surprisingly considering how many prostitutes plied their trade in the seedier are of the Leaf, and it was an exciting day. After all, Himegami 'The Black Rose' Uzumaki was giving birth.

The Blooming Rose was in a frenzy of activity, all the ladies rushing about to do their assigned tasks as the Matron, Ms. Grey, calmly acted as Midwife to the woman. For hours they stayed locked in that room, the only sounds being the screams of the mother or the occasional direction of the Doctor they had managed to find.

Yes, a doctor. The people of District 9, the Red Light Sector, never trusted the Leaf's hospitals. And for good reason, too. More often than not, they would be turned away, cast aside due to their position in life or their not so great monetary wealth. But what they lacked in money and wealth, they made up for in resourcefulness.

All of a sudden, all was quiet.

But then, at 11:26 AM, a cry was heard, a cry that spoke loudly of a new life entering this world.

Himegami held her son, as he was a male, and smiled softly, already seeing his father in his appearance. She had not told Kakuzu that she was pregnant, out of fear of his reaction, so she kept it a secret in fear of what he would do to her or their child, or worse, if he would take him away from her.

Looking at him gently, she stroked his faint hair, already a dark black like hers, his eyes a striking yellow, and his skin a dark tan. Lines of stitches, sewn together with what looked like wire, ran along his body at certain areas along his arms and back, and a prominent one across his chest where his heart was, all signs that he had inherited his father's bloodline. "What to call you. You need a name. A strong name. The name of a strong Shinobi." She looked around, hoping for inspiration when she saw a book written by one of their regulars, a man named Jiraiya, and smiled softly again as she uttered one name. "Naruto."

(Five Years Later)

Word had spread like wildfire in the Leaf of the newest child in the generation. How, as his birth was directly after the end of the Third Great Shinobi World War, he would be the first of a new generation, born in a time of peace. This had brought a lot of attention to him, as well as his rather reluctant mother, and even the Yondaime had payed them a visit to see the newborn of the coming generation.

After his birth, Naruto was raised as best Himegami could do in the Brothel, learning all that they could teach. And he was an excellent learner, grasping concepts that children his age wouldn't normally have been able to. And when he turned officially five, he entered the Academy alongside several other children from clans.

First there was Itachi Uchiha, the 'prodigy' of the Uchiha Clan. Then there was Hana Inuzuka, Anko Mitarashi, the niece of Orochimaru, Lucy Kurama of the Kurama Clan, Karin Maaka of the Maaka clan, as well as several people from civilian families.

It was Naruto's first day, and he was calm about it. He knew he was far stronger than any of them currently, and had no reason to be nervous. His bloodline was active all the time, and when it came time to reveal it (His mother said to when he turned seven, two years from now) he would be able to get the two of them in a safe and secure spot in the village.

Finding out about his bloodline came as a shock to him, as it had just randomly done things to save him from injury.

(Flashback)

A four year old Naruto was sitting on the stoop of the Blooming Rose, a book in his hand when several drunken villagers grabbed him and took him to an alley. They had wanted him to go inside and get several of the woman to please them, and Naruto was angry that they would even talk like that about his 'family'.

All of a sudden, several thick strings burst from his back and arms, grabbing the now frightened sober villagers and ripping their hearts out, incorporating them into Naruto's system and chakra network. On his back, the heart that wasn't useless that the strings didn't destroy was stored, a white animal mask that looked like a dragon formed, red marking going down both sides of the porcelain mask.

(End Flashback)

Since then, Naruto had managed to contact the wires, finding them capable of some kind of independent thought, and taught how to use them, as well as given information on how to properly use the 'Earth Grudge Fear' abilities that allowed him to store five or more hearts, all of which can be of the elements.

That was a year ago, and since then he had managed to bring out his Fire mask in the form of a misshapen dragon, capable of moving on orders from the connection they had via the wires. It was cool, and he got a friend to play with.

He entered the Academy and looked around. Everyone was talking about how 'awesome' it would be to be a shinobi, and how they would save princesses and take down countries. It was enough to make Naruto scoff. Shinobi were tools, weapons to be used by their Kages to fulfill their will in the lands. They were one of the two primary ways that villages made money.

Money. Just the word made Naruto excited. For some reason, whenever money was involved in anything, he would get excited and happy.

He looked at his attire and smiled slightly. He had modeled it after his hero, a thought dead Nuke-Nin from Takigakure named Kakuzu. It comprised of a sleeve and backless shirt with a grey hood and dark mask that covered his black hair and face, black shinobi pants with white leg warmers and simple black shinobi sandals. You couldn't really see any of this because of the long, dark red coat that he had on that fell to his knees and covered his hands.

He sat in a seat and pulled out a notebook, filled with numbers in neat columns and rows. His personal past time, managing make believe funds.

For the next half-hour, he paid little attention to the goings on around him, missing two pairs of curious eyes.

One belonged to a pink haired girl with red eyes, who wore a simple red shirt and yellow skirt, as well as simple shinobi sandals. She had a bored look to her face, as if all of this was a bore fest.

The other belonged to a violet haired girl who had brown eyes, who wore a yellow shirt under a green sweater, a green skirt, and brown shinobi sandals.

They were, respectively, Lucy Kurama and Karin Maaka.

Class started before they could talk to the strange boy who had somehow caught their attention. The Chunin Instructor, a man whom was forgettable, started the introduction into the Academy, and explained the rules and regulations as to what was expected out of the lot of them. It was basic stuff. They would learn history, geography, biology, as well as taijutsu and the three most basic ninjutsu, all of which Naruto could already do to a decent degree.

In an effort to ignore the man, he examined the surrounding students. All of them had eager looks, except one. Itachi Uchiha.

He kept a bored face, and when they made eye contact, he smirked and nodded, a clear sign of respect between the two.

After examining more of the students, Naruto turned back to his notebook, flipped to the pages that held his notes on his Jiongu, and spent the rest of the class studying them.

His bloodline was simple and yet complex. Above his organs and blood vessels lived a complex system of wires and strings, each one of them being a minutely aware creature, similar to a worm. These worms could be commanded with chakra, but if the user is placed in danger that it could prevent, it would temporarily take over and control the host. They used organic hearts as sources of chakra, using them to eat and strengthen themselves over time by the chakra that the organ produces.

The organs would be stored in his back, protected by masks that represent the element that the heart was most attuned to, and can be ejected from the body to form a team or sorts. The masks can also be moved around the body, say to the hand, and the jutsu that are known can be automatically fired from them. But, he didn't have to stop at five hearts. If he collected more, he could combine them to make Kekkei Hearts, hearts that are combined to be able to use kekkei genkai like lava, dust, and storm release.

The most amazing factor of his bloodline was that collecting the hearts made him a pseudo-immortal. If he kept two hearts, and one was destroyed, he could still fight! This kind of skill was very intriguing, as he could collect many hearts and be nearly impossible to kill.

Roused from his notes, Naruto absently followed the class outside. When they were assembled, it was shown that they were having a kind of tournament to judge the skilled academy students from the less skilled, an obvious ploy to determine who was worth extra time and training, and who wasn't.

In the bleachers surrounding the ring were all of their parents, including Naruto's mother, and the Yondaime and his one month pregnant wife.

The fights were boring for Naruto, who was absently weaving through all of the hand signs that there were. When his name was called, he walked into the ring and gazed at his opponent.

Itachi Uchiha was strong, gifted, and a 'prodigy'. He was the one most assumed would win the fight. It irritated the young boy that everyone had immediately written him off as the loser just because he wasn't a member of a clan, rich, or even from a Shinobi family. He would show them, he would make a name for himself in the world, find his father, and become a strong Shinobi.

Watching as the Uchiha got into the Uchiha Taijutsu stance, the Interceptor, Naruto entered his. Straightening his shoulders spreading his feet and hunching slightly, he gave the referee a nod that he was ready, signalling him to begin the match.

Not a word was said as they flew at each other, fists flying as they attempted to beat the other into the ground. Naruto blocked a kick to his stomach, grasping the limb, and viciously rammed his elbow into the Uchiha's thigh.

Itachi leapt away, holding his leg and gazing at Naruto with a glint in his eye. He loved this feeling, the feeling of fighting a strong opponent. The pounding of his blood, the rush of adrenaline. With renewed vigour, he went back in, his movements slightly more erratic than the last time. This was what he wanted, what he craved, to fight, to feel the power of an opponent as they clashed, to meet a person capable of standing beside him, to measure himself against.

A rival.

The Uzumaki met him halfway. They collided and their fight renewed, the hush of the crowd making each hit, each block, and each grunt of exertion heard through all. Naruto stepped back as Itachi punched at his head, retaliating with a strong right hook to the face that sent Itachi sliding across the ground.

Both breathed heavily, both had sweat pour down their young bodies as they looked at each other. With a new sense of understanding, a sense of knowledge that they had found someone equally as strong, capable of holding their own against each other, they charged, ready to deliver the last hit.

They appeared behind the other, both with fists outstretched in post attack positions. Itachi gave a very un-Uchiha like grin as he collapsed, but not before saying. "You Win."

Naruto relaxed as he fell to his butt, exhausted from the fight with his new rival. He had no idea why he fought so hard, why he utilized his Brawler Taijutsu style to such a maximum effect, but he knew, deep in his two hearts, that he had finally found his purpose.

With a mumble, Naruto looked at the sky. "Itachi Uchiha... you better not waste my time with this rivalry. Time is money."

AN:And that ends that. Enjoy, as I am really going to say it now: This was inspired by a Jiongu story I read a while ago. Next chapter is the Kyuubi attack, as well as Naruto beginning on the path off the Bounty Hunter.


End file.
